Electrical receptacle for mounting on outlet boxes and the like



Nov. 18, 1958 wALlN 2,861,251

ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE FOR MOUNTING ON OUTLET BOXES AND THE LIKE Filed NLarch 9, 1955 INVENTOR.

jlayjm 4770P/VEV5 United States Patent ELECTRICAL RECEPTACLE FOR MOUNTING ON OUTLET BOXES AND THE LIKE Roy F. Walin, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application March 9, 1955, Serial No. 493,188

3 Claims. (Cl. 339-130).

My invention relates generally to electrical receptacles and more particularly to'such receptacles adapted to be mounted on junction or outlet boxes, switch boxes and the like, whereby such boxes may be provided with fuses, signal lamps or analogous electrical devices.

An important object of my invention is the provision of a receptacle which may be quickly and easily mounted I in a knockout opening of an electrical box and securely anchored thereto.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a receptacle as set forth which is adapted to be mounted in knockout openings which are disposed in close proximity to a wall surface exterior of the box, with the receptacle disposed in generally parallel relation to said exterior wall surface. To this end, I provide a receptacle which comprises a body defining a longitudinally outwardly opening socket at one end for the reception of an electrical device, and a mounting boss extending longitudinally outwardly from the other end and offset from the center of the body so as to be eccentric to the axis of said socket, said mounting boss being adapted to be received in the knockout opening and locked therein.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a receptacle as set forth having spaced contact elements and separate passages wherein conductors leading to said contact elements are completely isolated from each other, and in which the conductors extend to their cooperating contact elements in straight lines, whereby to facilitate connection therebetween.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a receptacle of the above type which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and install, and which is rugged in construction and durable in use.

The above and still further highly important objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the invention, and in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of an outlet box having my novel receptacle mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view in bottom plan of my novel receptacle as seen from the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, a receptacle is shown as comprising a generally cylindrical body 1 which defines a longitudinally outwardly opening socket 2 at one end thereof, and which at its other end is provided with a longitudinally outwardly extending boss 3. The body 1 is preferably made from electrical insulating material such as hard rubber or synthetic resin, the boss 3 thereof being provided with external threads 4 about its outer surface. The socket 2 is concentric with the outer cylindrical surface of the body 1, and has mounted therein a contact element in the nature of a metallic sleeve 5. At its inner end, the sleeve 5 is provided with inturned. angularly disposed portions 6 and 7 which abut the inner'end wall 8 of the socket 2. A pair of tubular rivets 9 and. 10 are mounted at the inner ends of counter-boredholes or passages 11 and 12 respectively and extend through suitable openings in the angular portions 6 and 7 respectively, whereby to anchor the contact element or sleeve 5 securely within the socket 2. The body 1 is further provided with a central axially extending hole or passage 13 which, like the passage 11, extends longitudinally through the boss 3, and which at its inner end communicateswith a central contact element 14 that is held against the'inner wall surface 8 of the socket 2 by means of a tubular rivet or the like 15. With reference to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seenthat the contact element 14 is radially spaced from the inturned angular portions 6 and 7 of the contact element 5, the inner end wall 8 of the socket 2 having raised portions 16 which provide barriers therebetween.

With reference to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the mounting boss 3 is eccentric to the axis of the socket 2 and is adapted to pass through a knockout opening 17 in the side wall of an outlet box or the like 18. In Fig. 2, the box 18 is shown as being disposed against a wall surface 19. While I have described the box 18 as being an outlet box, it may be assumed that my novel receptacle may be applied to any box-like element commonly used in electrical work such as a junction box, switch or fuse box, inlet boxes for motors and other analogous devices. In Fig. 1, a standard double outlet receptacle 20 is shown as being mounted in the box 18, said box being provided with the conventional removable cover element 21 secured in place by locking screws 22 extending through key hole apertures 23 in the cover plate 21 and screw threaded into the usual screw thread-equipped mounting lugs of the box, not shown.

With reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the passages 11 and 13 extend inwardly from the outer end of the boss 3 in straight parallel relationship to their respective contact elements, and that conductor wires 24 and 25 extend therethrough, their inner ends being soldered to their respective contact elements as indicated at 26 and 27 respectively. With this arrangement it is not necessary to bend the wires at any point within the body 1 and the connections thereof to their respective contact elements is made with relative ease. The conductor wires 24 and 25 may be assumed to be connected at their outer ends in the circuit of the outlet receptacles 20. In order to protect this circuit or any portion of electrical equipment which may be connected in the circuit by plugging into the receptacles 20, a common fuse, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and designated by the numeral 28, is screw threaded into the sleeve 5 of the socket 2. If desired, a conventional signal lamp, not shown, may be mounted in the socket 2 in lieu of the fuse 28 for the purpose of visual indication that any piece of electrical equipment plugged into the receptacle 20 is in operation.

A conventional locking nut 29 is screw threaded on the boss 3 and engages the inner wall surface of the box 18 to securely lock the body 1 in place against the adjacent outer wall surface thereof. The eccentricity of the boss 3 with respect to the body 1 and socket 2 permits the socket 2 to be located a greater distance from the wall 19 than otherwise possible. With this arrangement, the socket 2 is sufiiciently spaced from the wall 19 to permit mounting therein of the base of a fairly large-sized incandescent lamp if desired. At least, the increased spacing permitted by the eccentric relation between the boss 3 and the body 1 permits electrical devices such as fuses 3 of my invention, it will be nndcrstood that the same is capable of modification warrant departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is: 7 v

Z 1. A receptacle forinonn'ting .inthe knockcnt ripening of an outlet box or the like, said receptacle comprising a body defining a longitudinally ontwardly opening socket at one end thereof axially aligned with the body for the reception of an electrical device, a pair of radially spaced contact elements inrsaid socket adapted to engage coopcrating spaced terminal elements of said electrical device upon reception thereof in said socket, a mounting boss extending longitudinally from the other end of said body and disposed eccentric to the longitndinal axis oi said socket, said. boss having a pair of spaced longitudinally extending passages therethrongh, each of said passages communicating at m nner end thereof with a difierent one of said contest elen'ients and means on said boss whereby the same may be anchored in said knockout epening.

2. A receptacle for mounting in the knockout opening of an outlet box or the like, said receptacle comprising a body defining a longitudinally extending outwardly opening socket at one end thereof axially aligned with the bed'y for the reception of an electrical device, a pair of radially spaced contact elements in saidsocket adapted to engage cooperating spaced terminal elements of said electrical device upon reception in said socket, one of said contact elements being located at the central portion of the inner end of the socket, the other contact element comprising a metallic screw threaded sleeve adapted to have threaded engagement with said electrical device, a mounting boss extending longitudinally from the other end of said body and disposed eccentric to the longitudinal axis of said socket, said boss having a pair of spaced longitudinally extending passages therethrough, each of said passages communicating at the innerend thereof with a 1 body for the reception of an electrical device, a pair of different one of said contact elements, and means on said boss whereby the same may be anchored in said knock out opening.

3. A receptacle for mounting in the knockout opening of an outlet box or the like, said receptacle comprising a body defining a longitudinally extending outwardly opening socket at one end thereof axially aligned with the contact elements one at the side of said socket and the other at the radial central portion of the inner end thereof, said one of the contact elements comprising a threaded sleeve having an angular portion disposed adjacent the inner end of the socket in radially spaced relation to said tral contact element, the other of said passages communieating at the inner end thereof with the angular portion of the one of said contact elements, and means on said boss whereby the same may be anchored in said knockout opening.

stream Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,304,979 Hi'r'shste'in May 27, 1919, 1,314,346 Meschenmoser Aug. 26, 1919 1,533,690 Both Apr. 14, 1925 1,728,251 Pitt Sept. 17, 1929. 2,090,501 Neill Aug. 17, 1937 2,613,245 Brouillette Oct. 7, 1952 

